Cummings Renews Call For Congressional Subpoena for Michigan Governor After New Criminal Charges Filed on Flint

Dec 20, 2016
Press Release

Washington, D.C. (Dec. 20, 2016)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement in response to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s announcement of criminal charges against state-appointed Emergency Managers Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose, Public Works Director Howard Croft, and Utilities Administrator Daugherty Johnson in connection with his ongoing investigation into the Flint water crisis:

“It is inconceivable that the House Oversight Committee rushed to close down its investigation prematurely just days ago while Governor Snyder refuses to comply with its request for documents or even conduct searches that the Committee requested.  I renew my call for Chairman Chaffetz to issue a subpoena to compel Governor Snyder to produce these documents within 30 days in order to finally determine what he knew and when he knew it.  Governor Snyder appointed the two emergency managers charged today, and it is beyond irresponsible for the Committee to close its investigation without demanding full accountability and transparency from him. The families of Flint deserve no less.”

Last Friday, Ranking Member Cummings sent a letter to Chairman Jason Chaffetz urging him to issue a subpoena to compel Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to produce within 30 days key documents that he has been withholding from the Committee during its year-long investigation into the Flint water crisis.

Cummings wrote: “For the past year, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and his administration have obstructed our Committee’s investigation into the Flint water crisis. The Governor has refused to provide—or even search for—key documents.  As a result, the Committee is still unable to answer critical questions about what the Governor knew about the crisis as it unfolded, why he did not act on concerns about water quality, even while his inner circle sounded repeated alarms, and why families in Flint continue to subsist on bottled water almost a year after he declared an emergency.”

Within hours, Chairman Chaffetz rushed to close the Committee’s investigation instead of issuing a subpoena to compel the Governor to produce the documents the Chairman himself requested.  

Issues: 
114th Congress